


Frostbite

by AoifesRamblings



Category: Cats - Andrew Lloyd Webber
Genre: F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-03-10
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:01:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23094499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AoifesRamblings/pseuds/AoifesRamblings
Summary: The Jellicle cats are faced with a harsh winter threatening starvation, as a last ditch effort Munkustrap seeks out a mysterious new cat for help, and in doing so happens upon a new and unusual side of London and an interesting new ally.
Relationships: Alonzo/Munkustrap (Cats), Alonzo/Munkustrap/Original Character(s), Bombalurina/Demeter (Cats), Mr. Mistoffelees/Rum Tum Tugger, Munkustrap (Cats)/Original Character(s)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26





	Frostbite

"Did you or Alonzo catch anything today, Munkustrap?" Etcetera asked in a small voice, Munkustrap looked down at her and his heart almost tore in half.  
This winter had been one of the worst in living memory, the Jellicle cats were struggling to find food for all the cats. All the kittens were skinny, the human-less adults worse than that- most of them had given up their rations to help feed the kittens, leaving the bulky cats skinny and the already skinny cats near emaciated. Even some of the cats with humans were getting a bit thin, as those who could would smuggle out their own food to help with the effort. They were only halfway through the winter and already worse off than they were in early spring most years.

Munkustrap crouched down to her level, rubbing between her ears. "Not today kitten, the mice are still hiding away." Etcetera scrunched up her face and looked as if she were almost about to cry, "But Munkustrap, we haven't eaten a proper meal in weeks! Pouncival tried eating a dead beetle earlier!" Crossing her paws and pouting, she looked up at the Jellicle protector who was trying to stifle a chuckle. "Well beetles _are_ full of protein you know, perhaps we should incorporate them into the kittens diets when spring comes around?" Munkustrap said, wiggling his fingers above the young kitten as if to symbolise many wriggling beetles. "Ew! No! Munkustrap nooo!" Etcetera screeched in her signature yowl, giggling and running away from the older tom, retreating to the safety of the other kittens huddled in a warm, sleepy pile.

Munkustrap hummed to himself, smiling, but his face quickly returned to a strained expression as he thought about what Etcetera had said. She was right- the kittens hadn't had a full stomach in weeks, the adults hadn't had one in months. Scavenging can only take their family so far, and now they were getting desperate.

Lost in thought, Munkustrap didn't realise the tall, strong, black and white cat coming up behind him until the feline put his hand on his shoulder, startling the slightly shorter tom. Spinning around, Munkustrap was greeted with Alonzo, his fellow protector and, as much as he didn't want to admit it to him, his best friend. "You doing okay, Munk?" He asked, brows furrowed. "I-......No, no i'm not. We're not." Munkustrap sighed, well aware the cat in front of him could read him like a book, making it futile to try hiding any of his concerns.

"We haven't caught more than a mouse or two in the past three days, the kittens are surviving off smuggled kibble, the older cats are getting thinner and thinner..." The words practically fell out of his mouth. "What are we going to do, 'Zo? We... we won't even survive at this rate." His voice quivered with the last few words, and out of the corner of his eye he saw Demeter and Bombalurina walking up behind Alonzo, huddled together with tired eyes and exhausted expressions. They were some of the worst effected cats alongside himself and the other protectors. Alonzo took a minute to think, then replied, voice low and unsure, which was unlike the confident tom; "I don't know Straps. I....I-" He was cut off by Demeter, "Anything at this point, right? What about asking Bustopher?" Her voice croaked slightly, looking at Munkustrap with slight desperation. "No, he's already tried helping us- He smuggled out some chicken last week and other titbits but there's not much else he can do."

"What about Jennyanydots?" Bombalurina piped up, wrapping her arms around herself to help keep the biting cold out. "Her too," Alonzo chimed in, "but her humans are struggling with their... trading papers? Or something along those lines, she doesn't have any spare food to give up except her own." The four cats stood in a tight circle gazing at the ground, each one just as unsure as the next, lost on what to say. That is, until Demeter perked up her ears as her eyes slowly flicked up to look at the other cats,  
"W.....what about that new cat?" she said, voice barely above a whisper. "New cat?" Bombalurina asked, confused. "Y-yes, there was hearsay of a cat, near the old NineTails Cafe..." she trailed off temporarily, her brain struggling to function with the lack of energy. "I-I've heard a few cats say their human helps feed the stays... she leaves biscuits out for them, and sometimes this cat... I believe they bring packages to the less fortunate strays..." Taking a moment to process what the queen was suggesting, Munkustrap retorted; "Demeter we've never relied on anyone outside our family before, we can't start now-" the toms voice caught in his throat, causing him to cough into his paws. Before he could continue his sentence, Alonzo interjected, with exhaustion in his voice- "but we've never struggled to find food this much, Munk. I don't want to seek help from outsiders either, but this isn't about pride anymore..." practically whispering the last few words, he looked at his friend with pitiful desperation in his eyes, as Bombalurina joined in, "Our family needs more food Munkustrap, even the elders are giving up their food for the smaller kittens, Gus almost fainted yesterday!"

Munkustrap looked at the cats surrounding him, each one with their own experiences, knowledge and dedication to the Jellicles. He trusted these cats more than anything, they were his friends, his family. So after a long moment of silence and a defeated sigh, the next words out of his mouth didn't surprise him as much as he thought they would;

"Demeter.... where did you say this cat was?"

**Author's Note:**

> *distant suffering*  
> hi i am Not A Very Good Writer and this is my first ao3 fic so I've got a long way to go but I wanna get these nerds story down and i need practice so uuhhhhhh you're welcome to come along on this crapshoot journey!!  
> thank u for reading!!! follow me on tumblr lol - https://aoifes-art.tumblr.com/


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